Punjab: First cops beat woman, then allege abuse by victim

New Delhi, March 6: It cannot go more bizarre than this. First a group of policemen beat, assault and bully an unarmed woman in full public view and then accuse her of indulging in abuse. This is how Punjab Police is trying to save their face after being accused of thrashing a woman.

"Harbinder Kaur (the victim) abused the police in spite of the fact that her parents were present on the spot to take up her cause, if any...." says the Police report which was accessed by media.

"There was nothing mentioned against the errant constables in the woman's complaint against the taxi drivers and other persons whom she has accused of sexual harassment," added the report.

The report was submitted by Amritsar Inspector General of Police RS Mittal to Home Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Around 17 policemen were present during the incident when they beat up the woman and her father and brother on the road.

Video footage showed the horrific act of policemen beating up a woman on the streets in Taran Taran, Punjab. The incident has shocked the entire nation.

Now, the woman is determined to fight to get justice. "I have got no assurance from anyone in this regard but I will continue my fight for justice," she said.

The victim lamented that no political leader or senior Punjab police official had visited her family after the incident.

"The policemen threatened to take me to the police station where I would be badly assaulted by them and asked me to keep quiet," she narrated her ordeal.

"I will not budge. I will not succumb to any pressure. I will fight for justice," added the woman putting up a brave face during crisis time.

The woman who complained of sexual harassment by truck drivers was beaten up by several personnel of the Punjab Police in Taran Taran and the act was caught on camera on Sunday.

Police has beaten up the woman's father and brother too. "My father and brother went to talk to the truck drivers who were harassing me. The policemen standing there asked what was happening. Once they learned what happened they took the drivers' side and started beating us," the woman alleged.

Although authorities in Punjab have suspended four policemen, who brutally thrashed the woman on the street and were caught on camera, but Punjab government has to answer many questions regarding lawlessness in the state.